Push grader



ljfib 1943- R. G. LE TQURNEAU 3115 3 PUSH GRADER Filed NOV. 7, 1.941 2 SheetS-Sheet l INVENTOR RGLGYBur/Veau,

A TTYS Feb. 16, 1943.

R. G. LE TCURNEAU PUSH GRADER Filed Nov. '7, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR a a m u 8 L R.

rose assess Robert G. Le Tom-"mean, Peoria, fill, asslgnor to R. G. be Tourneaii, Incl, a corporation Application November 5i, 19 21, No. M835?! (Cit, iiilad) 1 3' "Claims.

This invention relates in general to-a tractor mounted earth Working implement or" the type which includes a grader blade unit mounted on and in position to be pushed ahead of the tractor; and in particular the invention is directed to improvements in that type of push grader known under the trade-mark Angledozer, and wherein the grader blade unit is mounted for horizontal adjustment between a working position straight across the front of the tractor and a right or left angled position.

The present invention comprises improvements over the implement shown in United States Letters lateutll'o. 1,964,366, dated June 26, 1934.

The principal obiect of this invention is to pro= vide o. push grader which includes improved means mounting the grader blade unit for angling adjustment in a horizontal plane and for tilting adjustment lengthwise of the tractor.

A further object of the invention is to provide a push grader which includes improved means mounting the grader blade unit for adjustment in a horizontal plane to selective angled positions from a straight across position in front or" the tractor.

Another object of the invention is to provide a push grader which includes improved means adiustably mounting the blade unit relative to the tractor; said means including a supporting yoke, a ball and socket connection between said yoke and grader blade unit centrally oi the ends or" the latter, and separate ball and socket con nections between the ends of thrust arms and the adjacent portions of the blade unit and yoke between which said arms extend.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a push grader which includes improved means adjustably mounting the blade unit whereby provide flexibility of adjustment without looseness or play, to eliminate strains or binding, and to reduce wear between the adjustable parts or the implement.

An additional object is to embody in a push grader a unique form of mounting or supporting frame for the grader blade unit; such frame com-= prising a yoke of rigid unitary construction, adapted to be tractor mounted with its closed end ahead of the front end of the tractor, such closed end being iid with the apex foremost.

Another object of this invention is to provide an adjustable mounting for an angling type graderblade, which mounting is or stout but rela tively simple construction, and exceedingly er festive for the purposes for'tvhich it is designed.

These objects I accomplish by means oi such l, able cutting or scraping blade 9.

structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specification and claims.

In the drawings similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views:

Figure l is a plan View of the improved push grader.

r 'gure 2 is a side elevation of the push grader.

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional elevation on line 3-43 of Fig. 1.

- Figure i is an enlarged fragmentary sectional elevation on line flof Fig. 1.

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken on line of Fig. 2.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on the drawings, the improved push grader comprises a rigid unitary trams or yoke of box beam construction, which includes transversely spaced, parallel side beams i; the closed end of said yoke, indicated generally @being diseased foremost and of forwardly vu configuration. The side beams i extend alongside the tractor and at their rear ends are pivotally connected, as at 3, with the adjacent l i of t e tractor. The closed and Wei is formed with an upstanding post 5 having a sheave ii jourualed thereon at its upper end. A cable l which controls raising and lowering of the yoke extends about sheave 5; this cable dependlug from a direction changing sheave (not shown) mounted above sheave d by suitable supporting and the cable 5 being actuated, as is usual, from a power control unit on the tractor under the control of the operator.

The grader blade unit extends horizontally and transversely ahead of the apex of the yoke; such grader blade unit comprising a forwardly facing concave back plate 8' of substantial length fitted at its lower edge with a conventional and remov At its ends, the plate is fitted. with vertical, forwardly extending earth retaining Wing's it. The plate 8 is suitably reinforced or strengthened at the back by sectional box design reinforcing members indicated generally at M; 7

At its apex, the yoke is fitted with a forwardlyprojecting heavy duty ball l2, which engages in a cooperating socket is rigidly mounted on the grader blade unit adjacent the lower edge thereof centrally or its ends.

Thrust arms it of box beam construction extend from the sides of the yoke to the grader blade unit adjacent the ends of the latter; these thrust arms being connected between the yoke and blade unit in the following manner:

At their forward end, the thrust armsv H are fitted with vertical end extensions i5, each of which has a rigid car 16 projecting vertically from the upper end thereof. At each end, and at the back, of the grader blade unit, a ball I! engages in a socket l8 rigidly secured to the scraper blade unit adjacent its upper edge; the ball IT having an integral bolt or neck l9 projecting rearwardly therefrom through a hole 20 in the adjacent and corresponding ear l- Taper faced nuts 2| are threaded on bolt IS on opposite sides of ear I6, whereby ear 16 may be adjusted lengthwise of said bolt to control the tilt of the blade unit lengthwise of the tractor.

Other ball and socket assemblies, indicated at 22, are mounted on the grader blade unit at the back adjacent its lower edge and below ball and socket units Il-IB. Integral bolts 23 project rearwardly from the balls of units 22 and are threaded into the lower end of extensions l5 of the thrust arms. These bolts 23 are held against accidental unthreading by lock nuts 24.

At their rear ends, the thrust arms N are each fitted with a segmental socket block comprising block segments, indicated at 25 and 28, hinged together at one end as at 21 for opening movement in' a horizontal plane; the spherical socket of each block being indicated at 28. The block segments are normally locked together by means of an ear 29 on segment 25, which seats in a recess 30 in segment 26, there being a bolt or pin 3! which locks the ear in said recess.

A plurality of upstanding balls 32 are mounted I on each of the side beams I of the yoke in longitudinally spaced relation: the corresponding ones of the balls 32 on the side beams being alined transversely of the implement. The socket blocks on the rear ends of the thrust arms are selectively engaged in cooperating relation with different ones of the upstanding balls 2, depending on the desired angle of the blade unit. The arms provide a rigid connection between the yoke and the grader blade unit, maintaining the latter in any selected position of adjustment.

By virtue of the above described mounting arrangement for the grader blade unit, and particularly the universal connections, it will be seen that the blade unit can be readily and quickly adjusted to the desired working angle in a horizontal plane, and in addition the blade unit can be adjusted or tilted lengthwise of the implement to alter the angle of cut of blade 9 with the ground.

as substantially fulfills the objects of the invention as set forth herein.

may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended -claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A push grader comprising a frame having transversely spaced side beams, a grader blade unit disposed transversely ahead of said frame, means pivotally mounting the grader blade unit intermediate its ends on the frame for angling movement in a horizontal plane, a pair of thrust arms, means connecting said arms at the front end on opposite end positions of the grader blade.

unit, and ball and socket means to connect the thrust arms at the rear end at different selective pointson the side beams lengthwise of the latter;

said ball and socket means comprising one member of a ball and socket on the rear end of each arm, and a plurality of longitudinally spaced 00- operating ball and socket members mounted on the corresponding side beam, said one member being adapted to be engaged with any one of said cooperating members on said corresponding side beam.

2. A push grader comprising a frame having transversely spaced side beams, a. grader blade unit' disposed transversely ahead of said frame, a universal connection between the blade unit centrally of its ends and said frame, and thrust arms connected between opposite end portions of the blade unit and corresponding side beams; the grader blade unit being mounted for tilting adjustment lengthwise of the grader and relative to said thrust arms. 7

3. A push grader comprising a frame having transversely spaced side beams, a grader blade unit disposed transversely ahead of said frame, a universal connection between the blade unit centrally of its ends and said frame, a pair of thrust arms, means connecting said arms at the front end on opposite end portions of the blade unit and for tilting adjustment of the-latter While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device,

still in practice such deviations from such detail lengthwise of the latter, and means to connect the thrust arms at the rear end at different selective points on the side beams lengthwise of the latter.

4. A push grader comprising a frame having transversely spaced side beams, a grader blade unit disposed transversely ahead of said frame, a universal connection between the blade unit centrally of its ends and said frame, a pair of thrust arms extending between opposite end portions of the blade unit and corresponding side beams, a ball and socket unit connecting the forward end of each arm. and the unit, and ball and socketmeans to connect the rear end of the arms and corresponding side beams at different selective points lengthwise of the latter; said ball and socket means comprising one member of a ball and socket on the rear end of each arm, and a plurality of longitudinally spaced cooperating ball and socket members mounted on the corresponding side beam, said one member being adapted to be engaged with any one of said cooperating members on said corresponding side beam.

5. A push grader comprising a frame having transversely spaced side beams, a grader blade unit disposed transversely ahead of said frame,

connecting the forward end of the arms with the unit, and ball and socket means to connect the rear end of the arms and corresponding side beams at different selective points lengthwise-of the latter.

6. An implement as in claim in which one of the vertically spaced ball and socket units corresponding to each arm includes means to adjust the spacing between the front end of said arms and the unit whereby to alter the tilt of the latter lengthwise of the grader.

'7. A push grader comprising a horizontal, substantially U-shaped frame disposed with its closed end foremost, said closed end being Vd forwardly, a transverse grader blade unit adjacent but ahead of the apex of said Vd portion of the frame, a ball and socket connecting the frame at said apex, and the blade unit intermediate the ends of the latter, a pair of thrust arms extending between opposite end portions of the blade unit and corresponding sides of the frame, vertically spaced ball and socket units connecting the forward end of the arms with the blade unit, and ball and socket means to connect the rear end of the arms and corresponding side beams at difierent selective points lengthwise of the latter.

8. An implement as in claim 7 in which the uppermost one of said vertically spaced ball and socket units comprises a socket on the blade unit,

a ball seated in the socket, a rigid threaded neck projecting rearwardly from the ball, the corresponding arm including an adjacent upstanding ear having a hole through which the neck projects, and adjustment nuts on the neck on opposite sides of said ear.

9. A push grader comprising a frame having transversely spaced side beams, a grader blade unit disposed transversely ahead of said frame, means pivotally mounting the grader blade unit intermediate its ends on the frame for angling movement in a horizontal plane, a pair of thrust arms, means connecting said arms at the front end on opposite end positions of the grader blade unit, and ball and socket means to connect the thrust arms at the rear end at different selective points on the side beams lengthwise of the latter;

said last named means comprising a socket on the rear end of each arm, and a plurality of longitudinally spaced balls mounted on the corresponding side beam, the socket being adapted to be cooperatively engaged with any one of said balls on the corresponding side beam.

10, An implement as in claim 9 in which the balls are mounted on and upstand from the top of the side beams; the balls from front to back on each beam being offset laterally thereof in an outward direction.

ROBERT G. LE T OURNEAU. 

